196 FUE-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 



By Mr. Felton : 



Q. Was that girl a servant of Mary ? — A. Yes, sir; what we call there 

 a slave. 



Q. I suppose there is no slavery there ? — A. No, sir. 



Q. She was a servant of this woman ? — A. Yes, sir. 



Q. Siie lived there ? — A. Yes, sir. 



Q. And got her eating and cilotbing' ! — A. I suppose so. 



Q. And sometimes Mary kept her at work rather than go to school ? — 

 A. Yes, sir ; kept her washing there. 



Q. You spoke about 5,000 seal skins having been taken. As near as 

 you can recollect, were those taken in the open sea ? — A. Really, I do 

 not know. The first I heard of those 5,000 seal was wh^ - I landed at 

 Oonalaska. There were boxes marked 800 pup skins. ' Tingle said, 

 '' What are these ? " Mr. Newman, the agent, said, " If you do not like 

 it, Mr. Tingle, report it." Overhearing this conversation, I reported it 

 to Washington. Then I was told that the 5,000 seal skins were taken by 

 the natives in the Aleutian chain — I do not know how far— and that 

 they were sold to the coiupanj'. I reported the facts to Washington. 

 I told Mr. Morgan at the time that I was going to report it. 



Q. You do not know where the}'^ were taken, but the probability is 

 that the most of them were taken in the Bering Sea by some maraud- 

 ders i? — A. By natives iu the vicinity of Oonalaska, I suppose. 



Q. Was there anything to prevent your making arrangements to have 

 kept house by yourself if you had chosen to have done if? — A. After 

 I was on the island ? 



Q. No one prohibited you ; I mean, no Government regulation or any 

 other regulation? — A. I know of no other regulation. 



Q. if you had had a stove and provisions you could have lived by 

 yourselves; that is, if the conditions were right? — A. If the conditions 

 were right, yes, sir ; but I was refused a stove. They refused to sell 

 me a stov^e and food, and my wife is here to swear to it. If I could 

 have obtained a stove and food I could have lived in the Government 

 house. 



By Mr. Macdonald ; 



Q. Did they have a stove I — A. They did. 



Q. They refused to sell it on what ground ?— A. Just stubbornness. 

 I can not explain. 



Q. Did you offer money for the stove 1 — A. A Government officer's 

 credit is good, because the Government drafts come to the Alaska Com- 

 mercial Company iu San Francisco, and they deduct his bill and settle 

 with him. W^hen I found I could not get a stove, I was afraid to go 

 down and eat day iu and day out. Then I wanted 



Q. Let us inquire about the stove. Do you mean to say that they 

 absolutely refused to sell you a stove ? — A. 1 do. 



Q. What reason was given when they refused ? — A. He would not 

 give me a reason except that he would not sell any. 



Q. Did you get a stove afterward? — A. Then, when I talked about 

 food, he said he would not even sell food. 



Q. So you had to eat there with them until you left? — A. Yes, sir. 



By Mr. Felton : 



Q. Did you offer money for food or provisions ? — A. Yes, sir. I de- 

 manded food. 



Q. Did you offer to pay for it ? — A. Certainly; I would not expect to 

 get it without money. 



